


it was always you

by PeculiarHeadphones



Category: Wooden Overcoats
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mutual Pining, Rivals to Lovers, Wow, also theres mention of a child dying so yeah??, anywho, for once i write fanfic for something that isnt a musical, i guess, im impressed, rudyard is a sensitive boy, this is ooc but i dont care, unrequited love(not really)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 10:46:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11416308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeculiarHeadphones/pseuds/PeculiarHeadphones
Summary: eric is dealing with his supposedly unrequited feelings, and is given the chance to do so when rudyard receives unwanted business.





	it was always you

Loving Rudyard was hard. Painful, even. He would always hear about love stories with where one of the two pretended to hate the other, and he wished to god that was the case. But alas, that applying to this situation was practically impossible. All Rudyard saw him as was a rival. If he had seen Eric as a friend, maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much, he could be okay with that. 

Besides, Rudyard had other people in his life, the only spot left open was the role of the rival. Sure, sometimes he would have fun messing around with Rudyard, but for the most part it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He was good about playing it off, acting as if he were interested in Antigone or Georgie. But as soon as they were out of sight, he felt drained. He didn’t like pretending that he didn’t care how Rudyard perceived him, not one bit.

He was surprised to hear someone had went to Rudyard for funeral services. All he had heard were rumors as to why. Some were rather out there and eccentric, but one in particular had caught his ear.

“He’s far too chipper to handle something like that.”

Word usually travelled rather fast in Piffling Vale, but everyone seemed rather eager to avoid the subject. He hadn’t read the paper yet, these past few days had been incredibly busy. When he had tried to approach Rudyard on the matter, the man sneered at him, seeming very upset about the subject, and walked away without a word.

Eric was at a loss.

As the day of the funeral grew closer, the town grew quieter. As much as he wanted to, Eric could never find the time to actually find out who had died. He had originally thought perhaps the mayor, until he saw them as he was out getting groceries.

He would glance around, trying to see if anyone was missing, but a lot of people had taken to grieving in their homes. People were trying to go about their day as best they could, but it was a struggle, and nobody could bare to answer Eric’s inquiries as to who had died.

The day of the funeral came, and Eric regrettably had far too much work to attend it. Those who had not gone had solemn looks on their faces for the most part, a few smiling in attempts to raise spirits.

Eric was god awful tired once he had caught up with his labors, but his curiosity as to whom had died was strong. He grabbed his coat and headed out to the cemetery.

It was late, but there was someone standing at the grave of the recently deceased, as Eric drew closer, he could make out who the person standing there was, it was Rudyard. The man had looked as if he were about to cry. Rudyard didn’t notice Eric was approaching till he stood right beside him. He turned his head to face him, a somber look on his face, then turned his head back to look down at the grave.

“Go away.”

Eric stayed put. It was dark, and hard to make out the words on the grave, but once his eyes adjusted enough, he understood the town’s melancholy.

The girl who died was Gracie Davis, who had turned nine just last month. The girl was known all over town for her love of flowers. On many occasions had Eric brought her flowers and let her weave them into crowns, placing them on her head.

She was always such a lively little dear, giggling almost nonstop. She wouldn’t leave until even the most cynical of people had a smile on their face. Even when she had grown sick, she still remained as optimistic as ever.

All around the grave were flowers. Not bouquets, but planted flowers. She had always adored daisies. Crowds of the white flower were planted all around the grave. Along with those were blue forget-me-nots around the edges, which she also loved.

Eric looked to the other side of Rudyard, seeing a watering can, a gardening shovel, and gloves.

He had planted these himself.

“Are you okay?” Eric whispered.

“I just buried a child, what do you think?” Rudyard snapped.

Silence settled between them, then Rudyard spoke again.

“I remember one time she came ‘round the place, Georgie, Antigone, and I were all outside. She made us all kneel down to her level. She gave Georgie a flower crown, orange begonia’s, said they matched her hair. She put a couple white lilies in Antigone’s hair, and then a couple blue morning glories in mine. Didn’t say anything, just laughed and skipped away. I keep mine pressed in a journal,” Rudyard chuckled sadly. 

Eric was at a loss for words. There was an almost overwhelming urge for him to just tackle Rudyard into a hug, but he knew the man would not appreciate it. Eric just patted him on the back.

“I’m here here if you need to talk,” Eric whispered. Rudyard only nodded. The two stood there for a few more minutes before finally leaving.  
They walked out of the cemetery together, neither saying a word. When they parted ways, they only nodded in acknowledgement at each other. Along with the grief that a child was dead, there was also hope that perhaps is relationship with Rudyard could change.

It was somewhat odd, Rudyard not insulting him every time he was within eyeshot. Their conversations were light, but it was nice. Really nice. On rare occasion, Rudyard would crack a joke about them being rivals and laugh. His eyes would twinkle like they were stars and Eric’s heart would melt.

The town was back to it’s usual liveliness, and Rudyard and Eric slowly grew closer. There were little moments here and there where Eric felt things would begin to crash down around them. But there were also times where they would brush their hands while they were out together, or when Rudyard’s eyes would soften for a few seconds when conversation between them goes quiet.

Although Rudyard still considered him a rival, it was much less hostile than before. At this point, Eric felt it was safe to consider the two of them friends. 

Every week they would tend to the flowers on Gracie’s grave together. Each time no words were exchanged, but neither really cared.

Every day that they grew closer, Eric grew more conflicted. Before this, Eric at least knew how Rudyard felt about him. But these days, the lines between friendship and something more were blurring. 

Eric considered bringing it up to him, but if he brought it up in the wrong manner, their relationship may very well crumble. But the lingering gazes and the brushes of the hand that the two shared were coming to be too much.

All day Eric had been keeping an eye out for Rudyard, but to no avail. The man was nowhere to be found. As he walked out of the grocers, he ran into none other than Antigone.

“Oh my I’m terribly sorry,” Antigone began rambling out apologies. Eric waved his free hand.

“No worries,” he chuckled, “by the way, where is your brother? I haven’t seen him all day.”

“Every once and awhile he just stays in his room and doesn’t come out. Nobody really knows what he does in there, but one time I walked in and he was laying on the floor like a corpse, it was odd,” Antigone looked down at her shoes, muttering a quick goodbye and walking away.

Eric stood still for a second before making his way back to his house, he couldn’t very well pay Rudyard a surprise visit still carrying groceries.

Nobody was currently in the funeral home, so he made his way to where he presumed was Rudyard’s room without any issue. As he was about to knock on the door, he hesitated for a second. There were so many ways this could go wrong, so many ways he could screw up. He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t realize he had knocked until it already happened.

“Come in,” said a soft voice from across the door.

Eric slowly entered the room to see Rudyard laying down on his bed on his side, facing away from the door. Eric slowly walked over to him.

“You doing okay there?” he asked hushedly.

“Sometimes the world’s just too much to deal with,” Rudyard replied. He shifted his body so he was now facing Eric.

“Can you close the door please?” he asked, and Eric quickly walked over and shut the door, then made his way back over to Rudyard, awkwardly sitting on the bed.

Eric glanced around Rudyard’s room, tapping his fingers on the sheets of the bed. He was taken back when he felt a hand grasp his own.

“Y’know, when I first met you, it was rather conflicting. On one hand, you were literally a threat to my livelihood, but on the other hand….” Rudyard trailed off, smiling sadly. He sat up, removing his hand from Eric’s.

“Sorry, that was really weird I-” Rudyard cut his rambling short when he felt Eric’s hand take hold of his own. They stared at one another, not sure of what to do. 

On impulse, Eric leaned forward, pressing his lips against Rudyard’s. Rudyard was shocked, but melted into the kiss once he had processed what was happening. Eric moved his hand to Rudyard’s chest, gripping his shirt. It grew heated quickly, and Rudyard overwhelmed all of his senses. Everything was happening at once and it was so good. 

Rudyard took the lead, leaving marks on every inch of skin he could get to. Eric had no idea where to put his hands, so he put them everywhere. The air was so hot, a mixture of whimpers and moans filled the room and they both hoped to god nobody had entered. As they reached their climax, all one could hear was heavy breathing and whispered sweet nothings.

As their high came down, it seemed as if the world came to a halt. Eric rested his head on Rudyard’s shoulder, tracing patterns into his chest.

“You had no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” Eric froze, realizing what he just said, but Rudyard just laughed.  
“I should apologize, the way I’ve treated you in the past is-” Eric cut him off, giving him a peck on the cheeks.

“No point in worrying about it now, love,” he smiled at the other.

“So, back to what you said earlier, exactly how long have you been waiting for this?” Rudyard smirked.

“A ridiculously long time,” Eric chuckled.

“And your rather annoying interest in Georgie and Antigone?”

“I’m a good actor,” his embrace with Rudyard tightened, “but it's always been you.”

Rudyard smiled, placing a kiss on Eric’s head.

**Author's Note:**

> hOLy fuck I never thought id get around to writing something nonmusical. but i love this podcast to death so if you haven't read it yet please do!!!! its amazing
> 
> if you comment ill literally cry
> 
> wanna scream at me abt this podcast hell we are all stuck in? my tumblr is peculiar-headphones


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